Automatic steering apparatus



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Dec. i8, E923.

E. E. WHNKLEY AUTOMATIGVSTEERING APPARATUS Y iginal Filed MayY 8, 1918 clare the following to be agfull, clear, andrepeater. nee; te, tera? erre, staresor arme', messacnusn'r're.

nnasrus n.

auro'rrc. senat. .r

Application tiled may 8, 191B, Serial No. 288,280. Renewed may 17, 1922. Serial No. tlf'te:

To all may concern:

Be it known that l, Enas'rus E. WINIrtEY, a citizen of the United States, residing at giynn, inthe county of Essex and lState of assachusetts have invented certain new land useful improvements in Automatic Steering Apparatus; and I .do hereby deexact description ofy the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it riplpertains to make and use the same.

- e present invention relates to an improvement in automaticsteering apparatus.

rllhe obJect of the invention is to produce an automatic steering apparatus of such construction and arrangement of parts that the vehicle to which'it is applied will be directed 4or guided toa predetermined level or horizontal plane of travel either above or below the starting level and will thereafter be maintained on the plane of travel at the pre- 'determined level. rThe guiding-device ,off

the vehicle may be any suitably arranged rudder or'equivalent device which, according to its position, causes the vehicle. to aseend, descend or be maintained on a predetermined plane of travel. For thel purpose of moving the guiding-device to cause the vehicle to proceed to tthe predetermined level or plane of travel, the steering apparatus of the present invention is preferably provided with meanswhich are 'thrown into operation to act upon the guiding-device when the vehicle has reacheda predetermined speed on one plane of travel. When the vehicle has attained the predetermined -level, other means with which the steering apparatus is provided are thrown into operation to act upon the guiding-device to maintain the vehicle on the lane of travel at the predetermined level. he present invention consists in the structure particu' larly pointed out in the appended claims, a..

specific embodiment of this structure being described-in the following specification.

The preferred form,v in which it is at present contemplated embodying the invention, is illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, in which Figure 1 is a front elevation, partly in. section, of the improved steering apparatus, showing its application to an aerial vehicle; Fig. 2 is ay sectional 'elevation on the line 2--2. looking in the direction of the arrow; and Fig. 3 is a plan of the rack Aand pawl device.

For convenience of illustration and de- '.the arm 9 also loosely mounted on the shaft 10. 'llhe The guiding-device which, accor ing to its posit1on, causes the flyin machine to ascend descend or be maintaine on a predetermine plane of flight or travel, may be of any usual or preferred construction and so it need not be' shown in the drawings. This guiding. device. may be the sustaining wing planes of the flying machine; it may be the elevatori the ailerons or the horizontally' arrange rudder. rlhe movements of this guidingdevice are controlled in the illustrated embodiment of the invention by centering cam 5 mounted to slide forwardly; and rearwardly on a horizontal shaft 6 arranged to extendl in a fore and aft direction. .The construction and arrangement of the connec-f tions between the centering cam 5 and the guiding-device which, for convenience, will hereinafter be termed the Wing planes of the flying machine may conveniently be the same as the construction and arrangement of the vconnections between a correspondingly positioned centering cam andthe sustaining wing planes ofthe flying machine illustrated and described in the patent to Winkley, 1,200,288, granted October 3, 1916. A

movement of the centering cam rearwardly,

viewing Fig. 1, that is to the right, Viewing Fig. 2, will, as in the flying machine illustrated in the said patent, turn the wing planes to be presented at a greater angle of incidence to the atmosphere so as to cause the flying machine to ascend and, conversely,

a movement of the centering cam forwardly,

that is to the left, viewing Fig. 2, will turn the 'wing planes to be presented at a lesser angle of incidence to the atmosphere so as' to cause the flying. machine to descend;

'llhe forward and rearward movements are yimparted to the centering cant-5 `hy means of a roll 7 received in a groove 8 formed on ico the forward end of the cam l5. The roll 7 iS v carried by the upper end of an arm 9 loosely mounted. on a shaft 10, journaled in a framework 1 1 secured to or forming part of the framework 12 for supporting the propelling means of the dying machine to which the steering a paratus is applied. "Secured to by means of arodlt is a. lever 15 '17 loosely received ina cam slot 18 formed in the recessed head 20 of a sleeve 21T slidingly mounted on the shaft 10, and connected with the shaft by a spline and slot so as to turn therewith. The recess in the head 20 of the sleeve 21 is of such size that the head Slides over the hub 16 of the lever when'horizontal movements are imparted 4to the sleeve 21 by means of a roll 24 `loosely received lin a' groove 25 in the sleeve. The roll 24 is carried on the upper end of the vertically arranged arm-of a bellcrank lever 26 pivoted on the frame of the flying machine. When the sleeve 21 is moved to the left, viewing Fig. 1, the lever 15 is turned in a uclockwise direction so as to move the centering cam 5 rearwardly and thereby tilt the wing'planes of the flying machine to. a

greater angle of incidence, so as to cause the machine to rise; and when after the sleeve 21'has been moved to the left, it is again moved to the right, the lever 15 is turned in a contra-'clockwise direction so as to move the centering cam 5 forwardly and thereby` tilt the wingA planes so as' to present a lesser angle of incidence and thereby cause the flying machine to descend. When the parts just described are in the condition shown in F ig. 1, the sustaining wing planes of the flying machine are in hor1zontal position.

ll-hisnwill be the condition of the parts when the machine is running on the ground pre-y paratory to rising. y

The bellcrank lever is actuated by a spring 27 to move the collar 21 to the left, viewing Fig. 1, when the cam roll 29 carried by the free end of the horizontally arranged arm 3() of the lever 26 is received in the 'de ression 32 of a cam 33 secured td a sha t' 34 mounted to slide but not turn in brackets 35 and 36. .The shaft 34 is moved to bring the cam depression 32 opposite the roll 29, by means of a centrifugal device, generally indicated by the reference character 38. This centrifugal device comprises obliquely .positioned arms39 carrying weights 40 on their outer ends. rllhe arms are normally drawn toward each other by means of a spring 41. The centrifugal device 38 is connected hy links 42 with a head 43 mounted to slide on the right-hand end of' the shaft 34.y The head 43 moves the shaft 34 by engagement with a collar 37 secured on the end of the shaft. The arms 39 of the centrifugal de.

' vice are pivotally mounted at 44 on the end inversa started in flight, the contact ofthe wheels 56 with' the ground rotates the axle 55.1The

rotation of the axle' 55 is communicated to the shaft 45 so as to turn thev centrifugal .device 38. When the flying machine reaches a certain speed on the ground, the centrif ugal force acting upon the weights 40 throws them outwardly and thereby pulls the shaft 34 to the right through the engagement of the head 43 with the collar 37 When a predetermined Speed is reached, the weights 40 are such distance apart that the depression 32 is moved opposite the roll 29, and thereuponthe sprin 27 by pulling the roll 29 into the depression 32, acts to move the colla!l 21 to the left, so as to turn the lever 15 in a clockwise direction to move the centering cam 5 rearwardly and thereby tilt the wing planes of the ilying'machine to present them at an angle of incidence to the atmosphere, so as to cause the flying machine to rise. Stop arms 58 are provided so that the centrifugal action upon the device 38 will not move the shaft suliciently far to the right to carry the depression 32' beyond the roll 29. When 'the machine leaves the ground, the wheels 56 will of course no longer rotate, and so the arms 39 of the centrifugal device will be pulled toward each other by the spring 41, the head 43 sliding on the shaft 34 without disturbing its position.v

When the shaft 34 has been moved by the travel of the .flying machine upon the ground so as to tilt the wing planes to cause the machine to rise, the machine continues to rise Vuntil it reaches a predetermined height, whereupon the steering apparatus acts to decrease the angle of incidence of the wing planes to a predetermined angle to keep the flying machine at the predeterroe mined height or plane of travel. This is I I effected by means of a pawl and rack device generally indicated at 58 which operates to cause the shaft 34 to move to 'the right so as to force the roll 29 up the lincline 60 and onto the surface 61 of the cam 33. This pawl and rack device 58 comprises two paw's 63 and 64 which are normallyl held from engagement with a rack 65,xed on the shaft 34,.by means of the springs 66 and 67 respectively. The pawl 63 acts as a detent to prevent retrograde movement of the shaft 34; and the pawl 64 acts as an actuator to rack the shaft 34 to the right to force the roll 29 ont of the depression 32 and onto the surface 61. For this latter purpose the' pawl 64 is pivoted on the upper end of a lever 68v fulcrumed at 69. The 'lower end ofthe lever A68 is connected with oneend 'of a connecting rod 70, which is connected at its 'other end with a crank .pi'n'71A driven by a gear 73, which receives its actuation in any convenient manner from the main maratea shaft .74 of the dying machine. The rotation of the crank pin 71 causes the lever 68 to oscillat-e constantly; and while the pawl 64 is normally held from engagement with lthe' rack 65, the reciprocations of the pawl .64 are not communicated to the shaft 34, as

The

lar 91 from the'en'd 92 of the bracket 35 equals the `distance from .the .center ofthe depression 32 to the center ofthe roll 29,

Aso that when the roll 29 occupies the demeans for drawing the pawls 63 and 64 into enlgagement with the rack65 comprises two so enoids 75 and 76 conveniently supported froml theibracket 35., These solenoids act u on armatures 77 carried by the pawls. 'liiie solenoids 75 and 7 6- are energized by a battery 79 when the indicating needle `80 of a barometer 81 indicates that the flying machine has reached a certain height. the machine has reached this height, the end 83 of the needle will be in contact with the terminal 84 of a circuit 85 and thereby close the circuit, permitting the battery 79 to energize the sozenoids to draw the pawls into engagement with the rack 65. As the roll 29 travels` up the in'cline'60 oi' the cam `33,

owing tothe movement of the shaft 34 by the rack and pawl device, the bellcrank lever 26 is turned in 'a clockwise direction to move the collar 21 to the right, viewing Fig. 1, so as thereby to impart a movement to the .lever 15 1n a contra-clockwise direction to cause the centering cam 5 to move forwardly and thereby bring about a lessening ofthe angle yofincidence'of the wing planes. As beforepointed out, when the roll 29 .rests upon the surface 88 of the cam 33, which it does when the ilying machine is trave'ing along the grorrnd,the wing planes are substantiall horizontal, so that they have no liftinge ect upon the machine. yThe surface 61 is made slightly lower than the surface v88,.s`o that when the roll 29 rests upon the surface 61, the wing planes are held at just that angle of incidence which is necessaryvto maintain the machine at a constant level when it is flying at a certain speed. lf at any time the machine should descend, the heavierv atmosphere in the lower regions will of course compel the retrograde movement.

of the indicatln needle 80, thereby breaking the contact etween the part 83" of thc needle and the terminal 84. The solenoids no longer receivingnergy from the battery will permit the springs 66 and 67 to diseiga e the pawls 63 and64 from the rack tereupon a spring 90 carried on the extreme lett-hand end of the shaft :34 acts to move the shaft to the lett to permit the roll 29 to descend intothe 'depression 32; whereupon the wing planes are again tilted to. cause the machine to ascend. It will be.

When v pression 32, the collar 91 will take lightly against the end 92 of the bracket 35. Any further movement of the shaft 34 to the right will then compress the spring 90 so that it will tend to move the shaft 34 to the left to bring the roll 29 opposite the center of the depression 32. When the shaft 34 has been. racked to the right .by the pawl 64, the pawl 64 reciprocates idlyon the surface 94.

Tlf at any time the fore and aft equilibrium of the' dying machine is overcome by an 'excess Vertical pressure on either the front or rear' portions thereof, the machine will be automatically restored to the plane upon which it was dying, by means of a float conobserved that the space separating the cog trivance constructed and arranged to act upon the roll 7 This float contrivance comprises two loats 95 and 96 secured to the shaft 10. The lfloats are located in a tank 97 sustained upon the framework 11; The tank 97 contains a sufiicient quantity of oil 98, or other li uid, to normally maintain the iioats, the sha t l() and the parts connected with it, in the positions shown in `Fig. 2. T now the machine tips rearwardly, theliquid will travel up about the float 96 andthereby exert a pressure upon it to turn the shaft 10' in a counter-clockwise direction. turning of the shaft 10 will causeY the slot 18 to depress the pin 16 and soturn the lever 15 in a counter-clockwise direction to move the centering cam forward and thereby decrease the angle of incidence of the wing planes. This will result in an increase in the speed of the machine at the. same time causing the forward part of the machineto descend, and thereby tends to right or restore the equilibrum of the machine. This action will continue until the mach/ine is restored to the plane upon which it was proceeding when the disturbing force encountered it. As the machine is righted, the' float-96 will descend, turning the shaft 10 in a clockwise direction, which will result in the centering cam 5 moving rearwardly to restore the wing planes to their former angle of incidence. f an excess vertical pressure on the forward vpart ofl the machine depresses the forward Ipart thereof, then the Hoat mechanism will act lto cause thewing planes to present a greater an le of incidence to the atmosphere until t e machine This i isagain righted. The -i'novem'ents ofv the The steering apparatus of the present invention has been described as being applied any type of flying machine, and also to` marine vehicles. In this respect it will be understood that the term wing planes 1s generic, inasmuch as it includes any'guiding f device used for changing the vertical travel of the vehicle.

Having thus described the invention,y what is claimed as new is:

l. An automatic steering apparatus 'for vehicles having, in combination, a guidingdevice controlling means, means operative when the vehicle has reached a predetermined Vspeed on one level to move thecontrolling means to cause the vehicle to leave said level, and means operating on the controlling means when the vehicle' has attained another predetermined level to maintain the vehicle on that level.

2. An automatic steering apparatus for vehicles having, in combination, a guidingdevice controlling means, means including a centrifugal device for moving the controlling means when the vehicle has reached a predetermined speed on` one 'planed of travel to cause the vehicle to rise to a predetermined height, and means for maintaining the vehicle on the plane ot'A travel at the predetermined height.

3. An automatic steering apparatus Jfor vehicles.having,vin combination, a guidingdevice controlling means, means including. a

centrifugal device for moving the controlling means when the vehicle has yreached a predetermined speed on one plane of travel to cause the vehicle to rise, and means including a barometer for acting on the controlling means to maintain the vehicle on the plane of travel at thevpredete-rm'ined height.

4.. An' automatic 'steering apparatus for vehicleshaving, in combination, la guidingdevice controlling means, a cam, uconnections between tlie controlling means and the cam, automatically acting means for moving the cam to cause the vehicle to rise, and additional means" operative when the vehicle has reached a predetermined height formoving the vcam to cause the vehicle to be maintained on the plane of travel at the predetermined height.

5. An automatic steering apparatus'for vehicles having, in combination, a guidingdevice controllingmeans, -a cam, connec-v tions between the controlling means and the cam, a centrifugal device for movingthe `the shaft and rotatably fixe ifa/aies cam to causethe vehicle to rise when-it has reached a, predetermined speed on one plane of travel, and means operative when the vehicle has risen to apredetermined height to move the cam tol cause'the vehicle tobe maintained on the'plane of travel at the predetermined height.

6. An automatic steering apparatus for vehicles having, in comb-ination, a guidingdevice controlling means, a cam, connections between the controlling means and the cam, means for movin the cam to cause the vehicle to rise, an( a rack and pawl device controlled by a barometer for moving the cam when the vehicle has reached a predetermined height to cause the vehicle to be maintained on the plane of travel at the predetermined height. I

7. An automatic steering apparatus having, in combination, a guiding-device controlling means, means includingoa centrifvugal* device for movingy the controlling means to cause the 'vehicle to rise when the 'vehicle has reached a predetermined speed on one plane of travel, means contacting with the ground to actuate the centrifugal dev1ce, and means operative when the vehicle has risen to a predetermined height,

for acting on the controlling means to cause the vehicle to be maintained on the plane of travel at the predetermined height.

8. An' automatic steering apparatus for vehicles having, in combination, a guidingdevice controlling means, and means for controlling said controlling means comprising a shaft, a member loosely mounted thereon vhaving a'hub provided with a projecting pin, a sleeve slidingl mounted on with respect thereto having a cam slot for receiving the projecting pin, and means for sliding the sleeve upon the shaft.

9. An automatic steering apparatus for vehicles having, in combination, a guidingdevice controlling means, and means for operatin on the controlling means to maintaintie vehicle on a predetermined level comprising a rack, a detent pawl 'for preventing retrogiade movement-of the rack, a pivotally mounted lever, an actuating pawl for the-rack pvoted upon the lever, means for Lnorinally maintaining the actuating pawl out of engagement with rack, means for actuating .the actuating-pawl into engagement with the rack, and means for os'- cillating the lever.

lll() device controllingmeans, means for mov..

ing the controlling means when the vehicle has reached a predetermined speed on one plane 4of travel to cause'the-vehicle to rise vto a predeterminedheight', and ymeans for maintaining the vehicle on the plane of travel at the predetermined height.

in? e 11. An automatic'steering apparatus for tal guiding-device, controlling means therefor. a cam, connectionsbetween the controlling means and the cam, means for moving the cam to cause the vehicle to move from one plane to another, and additional means operative when the vehicle .has reached a predetermined height for moving the cam to cause the vehicle to he maintained on the plane of travel at the predetermined height.

l2. An automatic steering apparatus for vehicles, having in combination, a horizontal guiding-device, controlling means therefor, a cam, connections between the controlling means and the cam, and means op,- erative when the vehicle has reached a predetermined height for moving the cam to cause the vehicle to be maintained on the plane of travel at the predetermined height.

13. An automatic steering apparatus for vehicles having, in combination, a guidingdevice controlling means, mechanism for vactuating said means, means for moving said mechanism to cause the vehicle to move from one plane to a predetermined plane of travel, and additional means vfor moving said mechanism to cause the vehicle to be maintained on said predetermined plane of travel.

ERASTUS E. NEY.

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